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Happy birthday, Cai Guo-Qiang. This series of photos is a TBT to the exhibition “Cai Guo-Qiang: Fallen Blossoms,” which was the result of a close collaboration between the Museum and The Fabric Workshop and Museum. A one-time ephemeral event, “Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project,” was held on the East Terrace on Dec. 11, 2009, as a memorial to the late Anne d’Harnoncourt, former director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “Fallen Blossoms” derives its name from the classical Chinese proverb “hua kai hua luo,” which speaks to the profound feeling of loss when a life is cut short unexpectedly.

“Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project,” December 11, 2009, by Cai Guo-Qiang (Site-specific gunpowder explosion on the East Terrace of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Courtesy of the artist)

In her series Girls, Beijing-based photographer Luo Yang reveals a side to contemporary China that is rarely seen in the West. Defying stereotypes, Yang’s subjects depict bold, self-aware Chinese women of an emerging generation instead of appearing simply timid and shy.